OTTAWA - A western Conservative MP who lost votes in the party's disappointing election defeat two weeks ago says leader Erin O'Toole must provide a full accounting of how he plans to win back the trust of some supporters.
Shannon Stubbs represents the rural Alberta riding of Lakeland, and says she had 15 per cent fewer votes cast in her name this election compared with 2019.
"I believe there needs to be an accounting on how it is that we are going to maintain Conservative voters, maintain confidence among Conservative voters and supporters," she said before entering the caucus meeting.
"The reality is that today, after the 2021 election, Conservatives are more rural, more homogeneous than we've ever been before. And we lost great, strong, necessary colleagues in big cities in every part of this country."
Stubbs was one of 119 Conservative MPs gathered in Ottawa on Tuesday behind closed doors to decide, among other things, whether they want the power to review O'Toole's leadership.
Under legislation passed in 2015, each party's caucus is required to decide after an election whether it wants to empower its members to trigger a leadership review, which requires a written notice backed by at least 20 per cent of the caucus.
Heading into the meeting, Stubbs was the most critical of the party's election performance, while more MPs voiced direct support for O'Toole, such as those who previously held critic roles including Dan Albas, Ed Fast and Michael Chong.
"There's a big desire for us to get back to work," said Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner, adding she supports the leader.
O'Toole himself said he believes he has the backing he needs to remain in the job.
"I've spoken to most of caucus and yes I do. We're all disappointed, no one more so than me, but we have to make sure we build on the gains we have, learn to build from where we fell short — that's what any team, that's what any family does when you have a disappointment."
He also said he supports the provisions that empower caucus to review his leadership.
Conservatives finished the Sept. 20 election with two fewer seats than they won in 2019 under former leader Andrew Scheer, who resigned as leader under intense pressure shortly after the federal election.
O'Toole's team also lost five incumbents who were people of colour and failed to make hoped-for gains in key battlegrounds of the Greater Toronto Area, Metro Vancouver and Quebec.
Despite her criticisms, Stubbs said she's taking O'Toole at his word that he will launch a comprehensive review of the election campaign, details of which have yet to be announced, including its scope.
She said she hopes to hear from O'Toole soon on what he meant in his election-night speech when he said the party needs courage to change.
"If now what we're talking about is changes of our policies, our values, our principles, then for me, that means it's even more important for the members to be able to have a direct say," she said adding the grassroots should be offered an opportunity to review his leadership within six months instead of waiting until a scheduled review in 2023.
Stubbs believes some of the party's vote was lost because O'Toole was unclear on policy positions including banning certain types of firearms and his promise to keep spending billions.
During the campaign, O'Toole made the unusual move of adding a footnote to his election platform promise to repeal a Liberal ban on so-called assault-style rifles that covers some 1,500 types of firearms. He ultimately decided to maintain the ban — despite party policy stating otherwise — and instead subject it to a review.
Even before entering the campaign, O'Toole's move to put a more moderate stamp on the party in hopes of gaining more seats in Quebec and Ontario left some in the Conservative movement, particularly those living in its western heartland, feeling less than impressed.
A member of the party's national council from Ontario has already launched an online petition to collect signatures from Conservatives who feel O'Toole has betrayed the party's core values and want to vote on his leadership earlier than the currently scheduled review in 2023.
"It’s not surprising that many mainstream media types are telling Conservatives that we should just be happy with our second-place finish in last week’s election," re-elected British Columbia Conservative MP Mark Strahl recently tweeted.
"Second place is exactly where they want us to be. Conservative members expect (first) and will never be satisfied with (second)."
While concerns are being voiced about the party's election performance, O'Toole argues that, under his leadership, Conservatives grew their share of the vote in Ontario and Quebec by three and four percentage points, respectively.
"That means the party has already become more competitive over the past year, and we are now within striking distance — the seats come after the increase in vote share," he said in a recent party fundraising email.
O'Toole also touted the fact that the party gained a handful of seats in Atlantic Canada, came within 2,000 votes in some 30 ridings and now boasts a younger caucus, with more women and LGBTQ representation.
Some of his MPs, such as newly elected Ontario representative Leslyn Lewis, a favourite among the party's grassroots and social conservatives in last year's leadership race, have taken to social media to say he deserves to be spared the same fate as Scheer.
Others are lining up to say the last thing the party needs in another minority Parliament is to find itself starting from scratch by launching a new leadership contest.
